


Prelude to a Promise

by Heart_Seoul_Soshi



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 10:13:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14668895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heart_Seoul_Soshi/pseuds/Heart_Seoul_Soshi
Summary: Evie tried to hang on to him, just a little while longer, just until it was all over. Junior prom was her dream, and it was just around the corner. But prom wasn't prom without a date, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, and even in Auradon the best laid plans of mice and Evie often go awry.





	Prelude to a Promise

Mal had to stop herself short when she came back from art club, knowing instantly that something was off in her dorm room. It took a minute of a silent stare down between herself and Evie before she realized what was wrong, realized the absence of Evie bustling around like a madwoman as she worked to finish her prom dress was the thing that was decidedly out of place. Evie was on her bed, breaking her concentration on Mal to stare absentmindedly into space. Not bustling.  
  
"...You realize prom is next month, right?" Mal dropped her backpack by the door. "You know, prom? The thing you haven't stopped talking about all semester? Last time I checked you have a dress to finish."  
  
Evie shook her head, very invested in her staring contest with thin air.  
  
"M, I'm not going to prom," she quietly said.  
  
Mal wondered for a moment if she had the right room.  
  
"...Wait, what?" she couldn't have heard that right. "What do you mean you're not going? You and Doug—"  
  
"I broke up with Doug."  
  
What a whirlwind of information to get in just a few minutes.

"Whoa..." Mal breathed, hurrying over and climbing up onto Evie's bed to sit across from her.  
  
Girl talk was never her thing, never a thing she cared about, but as with many things in her life, she made an exception for Evie.  
  
"What do you mean you broke up with Doug?" she prodded.  
  
"Mal, you wouldn't get it," Evie sighed, drawing her knees up and hugging them close.  
  
"Probably not, but tell me anyway."  
  
"Well, when you're with someone, there's supposed to be a...a spark. And Doug was wonderful, he really was, but there was never any real spark. And I just have the worst timing ever, realizing this now. I thought I could deal with it all  _after_ prom, have my one special night and worry about Doug and I later, but—"  
  
"But with Doug it really wouldn't be that special after all," Mal mustered a friendly smile. "See? Sometimes I understand these things."  
  
Evie laughed weakly, casting her eyes down on the bed.  
  
"But E, you've already come this far. Why not just go by yourself? Finish your dress and have your one special night on your own?"  
  
"It's not the same, Mal. Not at all how I always dreamed it would be...but don't worry about it, I'll be okay."  
  
The heavy sigh told Mal otherwise.  
  
"Evie..."   
  
"No, really, it's alright. I mean...there's always senior prom, you know? Maybe next year," Evie shrugged, her gaze far away.  
  
Mal didn't believe it for one second, especially as one day turned into several, and several days turned into a week, one whole week of Evie in a downtrodden funk that nothing could shake her out of. They didn't realize it, but Mal and Evie often had a tendency to run as one, one girl's thoughts and feelings unconsciously becoming the other's. And as such, Evie's funk spread to Mal in absolutely no time at all. Carlos had been waiting for his chance to speak up about it, biding his time and his courage and finally deciding to say something to Mal as they sat together in algebra.  
  
"...Mal, if I tell you something, will you promise not to hit me?" he shyly began.  
  
Mal looked up from her notebook, eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
  
"Depends. Go on."  
  
"...I think you should ask Evie to prom."  
  
"...Well, it's good to see that you took your crazy pills this morning," Mal rolled her eyes.  
  
"No, seriously. You're her best friend, she would love to go with you. To get all dressed up, dance, have fun, it would be great. It's been over a week, Mal, don't you want to see Evie smile again?"  
  
"Of course I do," Mal answered without hesitation. "She's been looking forward to this ever since we left The Isle and she realized she could actually  _have_  a real prom."  
  
"Then be a friend and take her. She doesn't need a boyfriend to have a magical night, all she needs is you. But you have to do it right, prom proposal and everything."  
  
"Prom  _what?_ "  
  
Carlos shrugged, like the matter was self-explanatory. In many ways it was, just not to Mal and her social crutches.  
  
"Come on, you know. You can't just 'ask' a girl to prom, especially not a girl like Evie."  
  
"Pretty sure that's exactly what you do," Mal frowned.  
  
"No, it has to be special. With like, flowers and candy. Or a giant teddy bear and a sign that says 'I can't  _bear_ to go to prom without you'."  
  
Mal's face scrunched up in disgust.  
  
"People actually do that?"  
  
"The cornier, the better," Carlos nodded.  
  
"You really think I'm going to ask Evie to prom? Carlos, that's a terrible idea."  
  
"Why? She'd say yes to you!" Carlos insisted. "She would have a great time, and you'd make her really happy. Look, you weren't planning to go to prom in the first place. Do you really think you'd be able to handle sitting in your dorm room all night and watching Evie be sad? All curled up on her bed and staring out the window with tears in her eyes, absolutely heartbroken that she can't be out there having her special night?"  
  
Mal held up a hand to shut him up, practically flinching at such thoughts.  
  
"Okay, okay, stop. That's evil, and you know it," she gritted her teeth. "Fine. I will ask Evie to prom."  
  
Carlos' face lit up with a beaming smile.  
  
"That's great! Mal, she'll love you forever! But really, make sure you do it right. Evie needs a promposal, a corsage, a limo, dinner—"  
  
"Dinner and a limo??" Mal repeated incredulously. "Carlos, I'm not a royal, how expensive is this supposed to be??"  
  
"Alright, it's last minute, but there's still time to work out all the pesky little details."  
  
"Pesky is right."  
  
"I'll help you. Jay will help you. But first, you have to do the actual asking. After school, okay?"  
  
"That soon??" Mal panicked.  
  
"We'll get you some flowers, maybe a box of chocolate, and it'll all be fine," Carlos calmly said. "Just tell her you don't want to see her stuck inside on her big night and that you'd be honored to take her to prom."  
  
Mal dropped her pencil onto the desk and buried her face in her hands.  
  
"I'm going to regret this," she groaned.  
  
"No you won't."  
  
"Why did I agree to this?"  
  
"Because Evie's your best friend."  
  
"Why did I let you talk me into this??"  
  
"Because you know I'm right."  
  
Those and other pertinent questions still flooded Mal's head long after the last class of the day had ended, when she stood outside her dorm room staring blankly at the suddenly imposing door and toting a box of long-stemmed roses under her arm, trying not to mess up the pretty blue ribbon the box was tied with. She wondered if she should knock. It was her own room, after all, so why should she have to knock? But she was here to see Evie in an official prom capacity, and a nagging something told her an official prom capacity called for knocking. She supposed she met herself somewhere in the middle, knocking on the door and then asserting her presence by calling out "Evie? It's me."  
  
The silence on the other end worried her for a moment.  
  
"M, you know it's open," Evie eventually called back.  
  
So Mal turned the handle and stepped inside, closing the door behind her and waiting by it until she got Evie's attention. Evie was in what passed as her "usual" spot as of late, huddled on the bed with homework and textbooks scattered open around her. Mal hadn't seen her touch her sketchbook or sewing machine ever since the prom bomb dropped. So focused was she on whatever fascinating physics assignment she decided to busy herself with that it took her a minute or two to realize just how curious it was that Mal was simply standing there in front of the door, not moving. So finally, she glanced up from her notebook, face furrowing with confusion as she did.  
  
"...What have you got there?" she wondered, attention immediately drawn to the pretty white box and its even prettier blue bow.  
  
Mal's attention spent a second drawn to it as well, as if she'd already forgotten she carried the roses.  
  
"Oh, this...it's for you, actually."  
  
"...Me?" Evie's eyes began to sparkle. It had been a while since they'd done that.

The sight brought a little smile to Mal's face, and she left her post at the door to cross the room. When she reached Evie's bedside she tentatively held the long box out to her, thinking she'd strangle Carlos if he was wrong about all of this.  
  
"What is it?" Evie questioned, taking the mystery box as if it were made of glass. Her tone was more excited and hopeful than Mal had heard it all week.  
  
"Open it. I...have something to ask you."  
  
Evie was very careful as she untied the ribbon with a single pull and lifted the top of the box off to peer inside. There were the long-stemmed roses, five of them nestled side by side on a bed of soft white paper. Each rose was tied with a cute little tag, the first one sporting a "P", the next one a "R", then an "O", then a "M", and then a question mark. Evie gasped, perfect lips parted and eyes utterly fixated on the roses.  
  
"I know you really want to go, and you shouldn't let breaking up with Doug stand in your way, not for one single second. As your best friend, I'd love to spend the night with you, so, Evie...will you go to prom with me?"  
  
Evie was at a complete and total loss for words.  
  
"And believe it or not, I'd hate to see that beautiful dress of yours go to waste," Mal added with a grin. "...What do you say?"  
  
Evie didn't say anything. She set the wonderful box of flowers down in front of her on the bed and turned to hold her arms out to Mal, who was happy to sit down beside her and fall into a hug. Evie hugged her tight, and for the first time in too long, Mal heard laughter.  
  
"Mal, I would  _love_ to go with you!! This is...amazing. You're amazing, Mal. Thank you so,  _so_  much. Oh my gosh, I can't believe this is happening!"  
  
Mal couldn't believe she was the reason for the big smile on Evie's face, but she certainly wasn't complaining.  
  
"You can finish your dress in time, right?" Mal asked as they pulled away.  
  
"Do you know me? At all?" Evie teased. "But Mal, you weren't going to go to prom, it's practically just two weeks away and  _you_  don't have a dress."  
  
"Don't worry about me, I'll get one. It won't exactly be an Evie original, but still.”  
  
Mal held up a rose with a sly smile.  
  
"We'll have fun," she promised.  
  
"We will. And I have a dress to finish."  
  
And so Evie was back to bustling, back to her old self as she fired up the sewing machine and went to work. Carlos hadn't been wrong, not in the slightest, and Mal didn't regret this one bit. Her best friend had a smile on her face and a shine in her eyes, Mal would  _never_  regret that one bit.  
  
Somehow, word spread that Mal and Evie would be going together, which meant that somehow, Jane and Audrey had taken it upon themselves to be Mal's wing girls in her search for a dress. It was so very last minute, and so many of the stores in town had little to offer. Mal was simply content to get a dress and get out, but with a princess tagging along on the shopping trip, it wasn't quite as clear-cut as that. An entire Saturday afternoon was spent with Mal trying on dress after dress and modeling for her friends, Audrey and Jane watching the show and giving their opinions.  
  
"You guys know I'm not on the hunt for the perfect dream dress or some garbage like that, right?" she said, coming out of the dressing room to show off a lace pencil dress to the girls.  
  
"Mal, I know things are way way different on the Isle of the Lost, but nobody goes to junior prom in a 'whatever' dress," Audrey firmly explained.  
  
"It's not 'whatever', I just don't care about the dress as much as I care about going with Evie."  
  
"But still, going with Evie is in and of itself a demand to be the best dressed," the princess argued.  
  
"Next to Evie, of course," Jane added.  
  
"Now, you had your eye on this one. Try this one on," Audrey handed over a hanger with a gown of purple, glittering in the light.  
  
Mal felt she'd had her fill of dresses for the rest of the year after a Saturday afternoon like this. A floral print, dark blue, not Mal's color but a smart choice if she and Evie planned to coordinate. A two piece dress that she actually fancied, a black top and dark maroon bottom that Mal imagined she could put an Isle flair on. Audrey wholeheartedly cheered for an elegant gown with a sweetheart neckline, but Mal passed on it. Finally, in spite of the frilliness of it all she decided on a long and strapless dress of deep purple, with a glittering appliqué along the neckline that made it sparkle.  
  
She'd had her fill of dresses for the rest of the year, until she stepped through the door of her room and saw Evie.  
  
"What do you think?" Evie asked.  
  
Mal had seen the dress before. She just hadn't seen it on Evie, a navy off-the-shoulder number with a long train. Right out of a fairytale.  
  
"It's beautiful," Mal told her, laying the garment bag with her own dress at the foot of her bed.  
  
"You like it?"  
  
"A lot. You'll look amazing at prom."  
  
" _We'll_  look amazing."  
  
Evie moved in front of the long bedroom mirror to have a better look at herself. Mal kicked off her shoes and lounged out across her bed, so happy to finally be off her feet.  
  
"So E, about prom night...would you maybe...want to go to dinner first?" Mal gingerly asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm trying to do this right, so you don't miss out on any of this sacred prom tradition crap."  
  
"Nice," Evie giggled. "But Mal, you don't have to go through all that trouble."  
  
"It's not trouble, not for you," Mal quickly said. "It's your special night."  
  
Evie studied Mal's reflection in the mirror for a moment, leaving the glass behind to go over to her and settle in beside her on the bed.  
  
"Call it our special night, and you have a deal. M, you're not just taking me to prom, we're going together. Or at least, I  _hope_  we're going together."  
  
"Of course we're going together. You and me, E and M."    
  
Evie's expression slowly turned serious, suddenly sincere, her focus locked very intensely on Mal's eyes.  
  
"...You're the best friend any girl could ask for, M," she quietly said. "You know that, right?"  
  
Mal was honestly a little taken aback at the sentiment.  
  
"E, come on..." she shyly looked away.  
  
"I mean it. You're Maleficent's daughter with a heart of gold, and I love you."  
  
"I love you too, now quit getting gooey on me," Mal gave her a playful shove. "Then that's a yes on dinner. What about an after-prom party?"  
  
"That sounds fun. And you know all our friends will be out too, so might as well. Dinner, prom, party, and then back here to crash for a well-deserved rest."  
  
"Sorry this is all so last minute," Mal apologized.  
  
Evie shook her head.  
  
"It's not last minute, it's perfect."  
  
So they bided their time in the days and weeks that followed, waiting for prom to arrive. And when it finally came on a Saturday night, the electricity in the air was palpable. Evie couldn't believe she'd almost missed this.  
  
"Mal! Open up, let me see!" Evie knocked on the bathroom door, urging Mal to hurry and finish changing so she could glimpse the dress.  
  
"You waited two weeks, you really can't wait another minute?" Mal called through the door.  
  
"No!"  
  
Mal couldn't help but laugh, fumbling with her zipper before stepping out of the bathroom with a little "ta-da" gesture for Evie's benefit. Evie was delighted.  
  
"Oh, Mal!" she took Mal by her hands and spun her around. "It's gorgeous,  _you're_  gorgeous!"   
  
"Thanks, E. You are too, naturally," Mal let herself be stunned once again by Evie's off-the-shoulder dress. "Which reminds me..."  
  
She left Evie's side to go to her nightstand, picking up a small box and gifting it to Evie.  
  
"Your corsage," she said with a proud smile.  
  
Beautiful flowers of blue and white, held together with a lacy sapphire bow. Mal helped tie it onto Evie's wrist, finishing her look for the evening.  
  
"I got you a corsage too," Evie had a proud smile as well, although hers had a bit of sly sneakiness to it.  
  
"You did?"  
  
Purple roses against a canvas of lush green leaves, finding its own home on Mal's wrist. The two girls looked each other over once more, marveling and admiring.  
  
"Okay, we're ready," Evie nodded eagerly, the waves of her hair bouncing.   
  
"Big night," Mal tucked a strand of purple behind her ear. "We'll have a good time."  
  
"We'll have a  _great_ time."  
  
Prom pictures were being taken in front of the school, among the flowers and hedges. The girls found Carlos and Jay, and the Rotten Four took a minute for a photo, just them, the boys looking stunning in their tuxedos. A memory they'd always treasure. Mal pulled Carlos away for a second after they'd all finished posing, sneaking him off to the side.  
  
"Carlos...thank you, for talking me into asking Evie to prom. I don't know what I would've done if I just sat around while she missed this. Or if I missed this, to be honest."  
  
Carlos grinned easily, squeezing Mal's hand.  
  
"You two will have an amazing night. You should do this again next year."  
  
Mal rolled her eyes.  
  
"Please, Evie will have a boyfriend again in no time. One she'll have her 'spark' with and take to senior prom without having to fall back on her best friend."  
  
The gleam in Carlos' eye was rather mischievous.  
  
"I just wouldn't be too sure, Mal."  
  
He left Mal to ponder over that as Evie returned to her side, pointing out their limo parked along the road to the school. Other kids and couples were similarly disappearing into limousines, some even into horse-drawn carriages. There was Auradon magic in the air, pure and simple. And it was through Auradon magic that the prom venue was a site well accustomed to dances and memories—Cinderella and Prince Charming's castle. Stepping out of the limo after dinner and seeing the towers of white piercing the night sky like spears of diamonds, Evie had to take a step back and bask in the delight of the fact that this was her life now. She wasn't a villain, crashing the party; she was the princess, invited to the glittering and glamorous ball with the whole kingdom ready and waiting for her.  
  
And to think she never would have gotten to feel the wonderfully warm swelling in her heart if it hadn't been for Mal. They were arm in arm as they strode through the castle's grand doors, surrounded by friends and classmates.  
  
"Feel like Cinderella yet?" Mal asked, watching the awe flicker to life in Evie's eyes.  
  
"I'm every bit the princess," Evie giggled.  
  
The music was loud, just as it should be on such a night, and pockets of conversation and laughter were scattered among the dancing in the ballroom. Evie imagined it really must be what Cinderella felt on her own magical night. Together with Mal, she weaved through the dance floor, taking in the sight of all their friends. Mal spotted Doug far across the ballroom, not with a date, but talking and laughing with a few of his cousins. She spotted Evie spotting him too.  
  
"...You okay?" she asked, lacing her fingers through Evie’s.  
  
Evie smiled, turning her attention away from Doug.  
  
"Of course. It wasn't a bad breakup, Mal. We realized it wasn't working out as well as it should've been, and we said goodbye."  
  
"Because there was no spark," Mal remembered Evie's word for it.  
  
"Right."  
  
"...What's it like?" the question in Mal's voice was innocent, almost childlike.  
  
"What? A spark?"  
  
Mal nodded.  
  
The two had come to a stop in the middle of the room while Evie thought of how to explain, how to put the feelings into words.  
  
"It's like...they're the one that makes you feel better after a bad day, and neither of you even realize it. All they have to do is just smile or laugh and suddenly your dark clouds are cleared away. And there are parts of you that just always want to be around them and keep them close, because when you're apart you miss them terribly. I guess what it really comes down to is someone who feels like they could someday be an extension of you, and losing them would be like losing a part of yourself...so, needless to say, I didn't have any of that with Doug."  
  
"...Have you  _ever_ had it?"  
  
Oddly enough, Evie didn't answer her. Didn't give a yes, didn't give a no, just ignored the question completely. Acted rather like she hadn't even heard it at all, in point of fact.  
  
"Ohhh, look at you two!!" Fairy Godmother was of course fluttering around, chaperoning. "You girls look wonderful!"  
  
"Thanks, Fairy Godmother," Mal turned pink in the cheeks.  
  
"Thank you," Evie bowed her head.  
  
"And Evie, I heard about you and Doug, I'm so sorry," Fairy Godmother's eyes shone sympathetically. "But I'm so happy you still came to prom."  
  
"I am too," Evie smiled. "But I wouldn't even be here at all if it weren't for Mal. She asked me out tonight."  
  
Mal went even pinker under the headmistress' impressed gaze.  
  
"Mal, that was a very sweet thing to do," Fairy Godmother said.  
  
"Mal's a very sweet girl," Evie insisted.  
  
Mal and her very sweet tendencies were just turning redder and redder, so grateful when Fairy Godmother eventually left them with a beaming smile and a "Have fun!" The music playing had heads bopping and feet swaying, a lively tune to make people want to move.  
  
"So...should we dance?" Mal suggested. "I mean, yeah, it's a dance, but I—"  
  
"Yes," Evie laughed, amused by Mal's somewhat nervous babbling. "Let's dance."  
  
And there was the fun they had promised each other, a night of dancing, music, friends, memories. Mal and Evie laughing as they spun each other to the beat, twirled around one another and let themselves lose any and all thoughts to the songs blaring overhead. Mal couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so much, her carefree heart just bubbling with happiness tonight.  
  
The best part of all was simply getting to be with Evie.  
  
Jay caught up with them in between songs, crossing the ballroom with Lonnie on his arm to say hello.  
  
"Hey guys," he grinned.  
  
"Hey," Mal said back.  
  
"You two look amazing. I'm sure you've probably heard that all night, but  _wow_ , you look amazing," Lonnie gushed.  
  
Evie was always delighted to take a compliment, physically incapable of tiring of them.  
  
"You know, Evie, Doug was a nice guy and everything, but I think you did much better with Mal as your date," Jay stated matter-of-factly, wearing an impish smile.  
  
"I'm not her date," Mal quickly said, shaking her head with wide eyes at the implication.  
  
"You're sort of my date," Evie was unperturbed by said implication, mulling over the truth of it with a thoughtful shrug. "We're here together, after all."  
  
"As friends!" Mal corrected.  
  
"So it's a friend date," Evie laughed.  
  
"If you say so," Mal murmured, her face now red for entirely different reasons.  
  
Her and Evie, dating. Dating was holding hands and getting lost in eyes and distracted gazes from across the room accompanied by silly, wistful smiles. Which...were all things Mal and Evie had been guilty of with each other on more than one occasion, to be honest.  
  
But dating was also kissing, Mal defensively tried to tell herself, and if she thought about kissing Evie...well, if she thought about it at this particular moment in time, at least, her heartbeat stuttered on itself. She didn't want to think too hard about what that might mean.  
  
Just like Fairy Godmother, Jay and Lonnie soon enough gave their goodbyes and left the girls to their own devices, to dance again as a new song started beating.  
  
"...Why were you so skittish just then?" Evie wondered with a tiny laugh.  
  
Mal's automatic reaction was to play dumb and utter a "what do you mean?" but deep down she knew there was no point playing dumb with Evie.  
  
"I wasn't skittish, I was just...I mean, Jay and Lonnie are here as each other's dates, but they're not dating, right? It's the exact same thing for us."  
  
"Jay never said that it wasn't," Evie cooly pointed out. "All he said was that you were my date. Which means something about it makes you jumpy."  
  
"Well yeah, it's sort of a loaded word, isn't it??"  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Because! We're only friends, E! Even if it's just platonic I don't want the word 'date' hanging over us and making people think we're into each other that way, we're not like that."  
  
"...No, I guess we're not," Evie murmured, barely heard over the music.  
  
She "guessed" they weren't. Mal had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Evie wasn't quite so sure about it herself. Maybe it meant how thrilled she was to be at junior prom with Mal, how opening that box to find roses and her very own promposal from her best friend filled her with all the feelings of a fairytale dream come true. Or perhaps it was finding the words to explain a spark and stopping short when Mal asked if she'd ever felt it, realizing with an almighty start that the very definition of chemistry she pieced together applied to one person in particular, someone who looked stunning tonight in a strapless purple dress.  
  
The magical night felt like it lasted and would last forever, but even forever started to draw to a close when eyes and attentions were drawn to the front of the ballroom for the crowning of two seniors as prom king and queen.  
  
"...It'll be you next year," Mal said above the clapping around them, watching Evie's eyes sparkle as Fairy Godmother placed the crowns on the king and queen.  
  
And there was no doubt in Evie's mind that she  _would_  be prom queen next year, no doubt at all. She just suddenly found herself wondering who her king would be.  
  
When the moment passed, and the music began once more, it wasn't the same fun beats that had come to paint the air the entire night. Prom was winding down, and the music slowed to something soft and sweet, something for pulling one another in close and getting lost in someone besides yourself. All across the dance floor hands went in hands, arms slid around waists, heads came to rest on shoulders.   
  
"Do you...do you still want to dance with me?" Mal tentatively asked, turning to Evie.  
  
"...Are you still my date?" Evie asked back with a shy smile.  
  
Mal was still rather thrown by the word.  
  
"For tonight, I guess."  
  
She guessed. There was that word again. She moved to put her arms around Evie, but Evie responded with a step back away from her.  
  
"M, you don't have to if you don't want to. I know it's weird and awkward, a slow dance and all," Evie told her.  
  
"...Evie, you are beautiful tonight. And I would love to dance with you," Mal was sincere, taking her by the hand.  
  
It was almost too easy the way they fell into step, swaying to the music. Almost unfairly so, as if they were always meant to dance this dance. Two flower petals, purple and blue, fluttering through the air in an effortless ballet. With the soft music around them, the even softer circles they made through the ballroom, it was easy for Mal and Evie to get swept away. Easy to hold hands and get lost in eyes and distracted gazes accompanied by silly, wistful smiles.  
  
"...Hey Mal?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Something like what?" Mal wondered.  
  
"Like, do you ever think about how it would be if things were different?"  
  
Mal didn't follow.  
  
"Different how? What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean...like what if you had been there at my birthday party when we were little? What if we had spent our  _whole_ lives as best friends instead of just these past few years?"  
  
An incredible thought, one Mal honestly hadn't thought about in answer to Evie's question.  
  
"Who says we're  _not_  going to spend our whole lives as best friends?" she wore a proud grin. "So we missed our chance when we were six. We still have a lot of life left, and I know you'll always be in mine. We're Mal and Evie."  
  
"And we always will be?"  
  
"And we always will be," Mal nodded. "It's who we are and what we do. You and me, we just have..."  
  
She trailed off the very instant she heard the word pop into her head, the very specific word she was instinctively about to use next.  
  
"...A spark?" Evie helpfully, albeit nervously, supplied.  
  
And just like that, they had stopped dancing.  
  
"Mal, why did you ask me to prom?" Evie questioned, suddenly seeming to change the subject.  
  
Mal didn't even have to think about it.  
  
"I wanted you to be happy."  
  
"And why do you care about whether I'm happy or not?"  
  
Another no-brainer.  
  
"...Because seeing you happy makes  _me_  happy," Mal quietly answered.  
  
"Does it?"  
  
"...Yes, Evie."

“...And what if I had told you no when you asked me to go with you?”

Despite Carlos’ positive insistence, the possibility had plagued Mal the entire afternoon on the day she asked. So she didn’t have to try very hard to come up with an answer to give Evie.

“...I think my heart would’ve broken,” Mal whispered, barely even hearing her own voice.  
  
They weren't dancing anymore, but still they stood fiercely hand in hand. Evie squeezed Mal's tighter and tighter as she dredged up her courage.  
  
"M, I really liked having dinner with you earlier. And I love being at prom with you now, and I can’t wait to go to an after-prom party with you later. I think I’m starting to figure out what it is I’m feeling tonight, but I’m not entirely sure where you’re at. Does it feel like you might...that you could..." Evie couldn't find the rest of her words for a long moment. "Mal...do you like me?"  
  
She felt Mal's hands get hot within hers, and saw the same heat flushing the pale skin of her face.  
  
"...I don't know what liking someone feels like," Mal sadly confessed. She darted her eyes down to the floor, unable to look at Evie after such an admission.  
  
"Think about the spark," Evie urged her. "When someone clears away your dark clouds and you always want to be around them, someone who could be an extension of you and the thought of losing them feels like losing a part of yourself."  
  
"But E, those are all the traits of a best friend, too. How am I supposed to know the difference?" Mal asked in exasperation, both excited about and afraid of where this conversation was going.   
  
"...You don't know the difference, M. You feel it."  
  
"Well how in the world am I going to narrow down all the things I feel for you??"  
  
A silence between them.  
  
"...All the things you feel for me?" Evie repeated with a little laugh. "It sort of sounds like you don't have to."  
  
This was not at all what Mal expected her night to end up like. But not for a single second did she let go of Evie's hand as she guided her off the dance floor and they abandoned prom to go out into the castle garden where Cinderella and Prince Charming ended their own dance long ago with a song about love and a stroke of midnight. Mal and Evie walked until the music inside was replaced by the trickling of a fountain outside, where the water sparkled under starlight as the girls found seats on the stone of the fountain's edge.  
  
"Is it better if we talk out here?" Mal asked, hands in her lap and smoothing out the lines in her dress.  
  
"It's quieter," Evie giggled, her hands cutely tucked in her lap as well as she did the damnable (according to Mal) thing where she bit her lip and cast her shadowy eyes down.  
  
The fountain behind them was the only thing that spoke for the next minute or so.  
  
"...Is this weird for us to talk about?" Evie whispered, almost afraid to hear the answer. "We came out tonight as friends, and now all of a sudden there's...thoughts of us being something more."  
  
"All of a sudden," Mal muttered in agreement.  
  
Evie was afraid of Mal's conflicted tone and expression, afraid that she’d made the biggest mistake of her life in bringing all of this up in the first place and deciding right then and there to back up and cover her tracks for both their sakes.  
  
"...Well, actually, I’m sure it's nothing. Maybe we just got caught up in the music and the magic, that’s all. Maybe we got lost in how amazing tonight was and it made us start to see things that aren’t really there," Evie laughed the whole thing off, heart breaking clean in two as she did.  
  
"And maybe it didn't."  
  
Evie glanced up at Mal far too expectantly then, and the sight of shining brown eyes made Mal's jumbled and confused thoughts come tumbling past her lips far too quickly.  
  
"E, the spark, of course we have it. Of course you clear my dark clouds away, of course I want to be around you all the time and can't even think about losing you. And yeah, that's all there because we're best friends, but it only takes a spark to start a fire, right? Sometimes I’ve felt things with you that always seemed to be a little bit more, like when I first saw you in your dress or the nerves I felt when I gave you that box of roses, but I didn’t let myself think much of it. Now you’re here,  _we’re_  here, talking about these secrets that we’ve not only kept from each other, but apparently from ourselves too. So maybe we are only best friends, or maybe we're both just really,  _really_  confused, but either way...maybe tonight is the start of us finding out. And I honestly want to find out, Evie...do you?"  
  
Evie's heartbeat was a frantic thud in her chest and her ears, the rhythm racing faster and faster with each of Mal’s words. Not even the calming trickles of the flowing fountain could relax her in the face of this very big change she was suddenly meeting head-on. She and Mal had a spark, cleverly disguising itself as friendship when the reality was that it could’ve been so much more. And there was Mal, sitting shoulder to shoulder beside her, a gentle touch nervously playing with the violet petals of her corsage. Mal, asking Evie to join her on one frightening and thrilling adventure.   
  
"...Just as long as you promise me one thing, Mal."  
  
"Anything," Mal nodded firmly.  
  
"You have to promise me that if we don't work out as something more, you and I will still be friends. Best friends. If we don't work out, we'll come right back to this."  
  
Slowly but surely, a smile crept over Mal's face and her fingers fell away from her corsage.  
  
"I told you, Mal and Evie. It's who we are and what we do. For better or for worse, we'll always be best friends."  
  
There was no moon out, but it didn't matter. Evie was the brightest thing under the sky as her heart finally slowed to a steady patter, a blissful calm washing over her like a wave. A thrilling adventure that suddenly wasn’t quite so frightening anymore.  
  
"In that case...I guess we owe each other a date?" she said excitedly.  
  
"Then I have to do it right and ask you out," Mal said.  
  
"Wait, you asked me to prom. Let  _me_  ask  _you_  out."  
  
Mal's blush was heartwarmingly endearing as she uttered a bashful "...Okay".  
  
"...Mal, would you like to go on a date with me?"  
  
"...I would," Mal nodded.   
  
Now it was her heartbeat that fluttered, a hundred miles an hour.  
  
"Summer vacation starts next week," Evie said, looking down at her fingertips as they reached over and made slow circles over the back of Mal’s hand. "We could have a picnic, or go out for ice cream."  
  
"Or both," Mal suggested.  
  
"Or both," Evie agreed. "...So we have a date."  
  
"We have a date," a smile came to Mal's face as she listened to her own mouth say the words, the kind of smile usually kept by children on birthdays with mounds of presents in sight. "You and me. Mal and Evie."  
  
"Mal and Evie, seeing about this spark between us. But Mal, please remember what I said. No matter what happens, if it's good or bad, at the end of the day you'll still be my best friend."  
  
Mal threw her arms around Evie and hugged her tight. She was warm, comfortable. It certainly wasn’t the first time she’d held Evie in her arms, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, but Mal pulled her in just a little bit closer. Hung on to her just a little bit longer.  
  
"I promise."  
  
Evie hugged back. And swore she felt a spark of static shock zipping across their skin.  
  
"I promise too."


End file.
